Pools and spas of every kind require drainage of their water so the pool itself can be cleaned and supplied with fresh water. Every pool and spa incorporates some plumbing for this function.
Free standing pools and spas have special requirements that are not necessary for subgrade installations. Free standing installations are elevated where their sides are in plain sight. Conventional hardware in plain sight is neither attractive nor convenient, and can be run into. Also, especially in home installations, low cost, low maintenance, and high reliability are of great importance.
Especially in colder regions where freezing is a risk, although the entire tank of water may not freeze, local regions such as drain valves may indeed freeze and be damaged.
It is an object of this invention to provide a conveniently installed and conveniently used drain valve that can be molded from suitable resins which is unobtrusive in contour, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, and which when closed provides no regions where water could be confined which could create a risk when frozen.
It is another object of this invention to provide a drain valve adapted conveniently to be engaged by a hose coupling for conveying away the drained water and which valve when closed and disconnected from the hose is recessed and mostly out of sight.